S.O.E. in Yugoslavia and the Balkans

When Yugoslavia was invaded by the Germans in April 1941, many Canadians who had been born in Yugoslavia, or whose parents had been born there, volunteered to go in as secret agents to assist in the country's liberation from the Nazis. To find people of Yugoslav background who spoke Serbo-Croatian, S.O.E. actively recruited among Yugoslav emigrants in Canada.

Most of the Yugoslav-Canadians recruited for intelligence work were hard-working tradesmen and labourers in their thirties and forties. They were predominantly members of the Communist Part of Canada or of left-wing unions. An estimated 20 Yugoslav-Canadians went into Yugoslavia with S.O.E. and two with M.I.9.

In Yugoslavia there were two rival guerrilla parties within the Resistance movement: a right-wing group called the Chetniks led by Draza Mihailovic and a communist Partisan group led by Tito. The Allies eventually supported Tito's Partisan group which, despite its communist nature, proved to be more reliable and determined in their resistance to the Germans.

The first Yugoslav-Canadians to parachute into western Croatia in Yugoslavia were Paul Pavlic, who had been a shipyard worker in Vancouver, Peter Erdeljac, a stone mason and Alexandre Simic who was an Anglo-Serb. Their mission was to establish a communications link between Tito and British headquarters in Cairo. Pavlic and Erdeljac knew the area well from their childhood and, by visiting the local Partisan headquarters, quickly set up the required radio link between Tito and the Allies.

The determination of this group of agents is well illustrated by the service of another Yugoslav-Canadian, Nikola Kombol, who returned three times to Yugoslavia in the service of S.O.E. He was 43 years old and working as a lumberjack in Vancouver when he volunteered for service with S.O.E. He parachuted into Yugoslavia on July 3, 1943 and worked as an interpreter for several British liaison missions. The extremely harsh conditions of living with the Partisans undermined Kombol's health so badly that he had to be evacuated to a military hospital in Cairo. Despite this, he returned twice with S.O.E. and finally, chose to remain in his homeland after the war ended.

Another Canadian who spent almost a year with the Partisans was not himself a Yugoslav-Canadian. Major William Jones was a seasoned First World War veteran and a native of Nova Scotia. Jones was dropped into Yugoslavia in May 1943. While the exact nature of Jones' duties in Yugoslavia are not clear, he is known to have worked closely with the Partisans all over Yugoslavia in fighting the Germans. He gained a reputation as one of the most enthusiastic and ardent supporters of the Partisan's cause.

A small group of Hungarian-Canadians and several Romanian- and Bulgar-Canadians also served in S.O.E. missions in their countries of origin. Missions to both Romania and Bulgaria, however, were not as fruitful as those to other countries.

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/courage/yugbal

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman

Bump for our Canadian posters .

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman

and very interesting for the others too!
This recruiting seems logical, though I never knew it happened. The soe guys were great. I am aware of the risks they took everywhere they went and they faced deportation and/or death if they were caught, because they would be considered as spies and denied the Geneva Convention. It's even more surprising that some of the agents were not Yougoslavian born. Risky business for them!

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"A small group of Hungarian-Canadians and several Romanian- and Bulgar-Canadians also served in S.O.E. missions in their countries of origin. Missions to both Romania and Bulgaria, however, were not as fruitful as those to other countries. "

Thanks. I wonder why the missions to Bulgaria and Romania were not as successful?

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman

Interesting really.

Good to see posts about my homeland, and how we ALSO did much in the war.

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Time is only enemy you'll never get rid of.

I have posted quite a few threads on Canada. LOL .

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman

Partly because the Partisans there were far less organised than in Yougoslavia. Besides SOE "invested" less efforts in those countries knowing they would be under Soviet influence after hte war.

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Thanks for the nudge, JC. I had meant to get back here to post but got distracted by a Falaise thread! The Veterans Affairs website has a lot of good information, but it is concise. I worked for Veterans Affairs Canada for about 8 months and distributing commemorative material (some of which is now at their website) and taking displays out to the public, as well as interacting with Veterans (WWII and later) was one of the proudest things I ever did in my working career.

I have a book by Roy MacLaren called Canadians Behind Enemy Lines 1939-1945 that tells the stories of Canadians who served with SOE The back cover says "During the Second World War, Canadians found themselves behind enemy lines in Europe and Asia. Not all were ill-fated airmen shot down in teh furty of battle. Some were there by design, as volunteers who risked their lives on extremely hazardous assignments.

Almost one hundred Canadians served the Allied forces by passing as locals in occupied countries. At the behest of two British secret services, these men made language and custom their costumes and wove themselves into the social fabric of France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Burma, Malaya, and Sarawak. They risked their lives assisting resistence groups on sabotage and ambush missions or in smuggling Allied airmen out of occupied territories. Quet heroes of the war, these bold Canadians helped to make the brutal and unrelenting warfare of the undergorund an potent weapon in the Allied arsenal."

Some of the names of those who are mentioned in the book: Gustave Bieler, Ray Wooler, William Jones, Ray LaBrosse, Gaby Chartrand, Pierre Chase, Roger Cheng, George Chin, Charlie Chung, Guy d'Artois, Cyril Dolly, Lucien Dumais, Andre Durovecz, Henry Fung, Harry Ho, Paul Labelle, Ray LaBrosse, Conrad LeFleru, Bill Lee, Bing Lee, Bob Lew, Victor Louid, Pierre Meunier, Colin Munro, Stevan Serdar, Al Sirois, Paul-Emile Thibeault, Robert Vanier, John Wickey, Ted Wong., and many others.

Another good thread. I'd also like to hear about other countries who sent men and women behind the lines.

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Regards, Michelle

Oliver Goldsmith, "I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines."